ERIC Number: EJ759626
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1068-3844
EISSN: N/A
An Interdisciplinary Course to Prepare School Professionals to Collaborate with Families of Exceptional Children
Lam, Sarah Kit-Yee
Multicultural Education, v13 n2 p38-42 Win 2005
To help children succeed in schools, professionals must work with the family system since "the family is the child's first teacher" and the benefits of involving families in educating children are evident in research findings. School professionals include teachers, school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, and school nurses. Among different types of families that professionals encounter in schools, families of exceptional children have unique experiences that impose an additional dimension of difference. Working with families of exceptional children is pertinent to help them succeed. Encouragement and support from the family contribute to reducing the gaps in college access and completion among students with disabilities. In collaboration, families are "equal and full partners with educators and school systems" and this relationship "will benefit the student and the entire school system." To be effective in collaboration, professionals must know how to engage families of diverse backgrounds. Unfortunately, effective models to train future school professionals in working with families of exceptional children are lacking. National accrediting agencies provide "minimal guidelines for disability training for school counselors." State requirements for education programs to train future teachers and school professionals in the area of family involvement barely emerged in the past few years. Involving parents and contributing to a multidisciplinary team are two crucial areas of professionals' roles in assisting children with disabilities. In view of practical limitations of programs to provide specialized training to prepare professionals to work with families of exceptional children, and the reality that professionals must collaborate with one another to address children's specific conditions, the use of an interdisciplinary course to address specific topics and competencies related to serving special needs becomes a viable option. This article presents a study on the use of an interdisciplinary course to prepare school professionals to work with families that have exceptional children. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: School Districts, Social Work, School Social Workers, School Psychologists, School Nurses, School Counselors, Family Involvement, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Accreditation (Institutions), Interdisciplinary Approach, Family School Relationship, Special Needs Students, Partnerships in Education, Access to Education, College Preparation, Cooperative Planning, Student Diversity, Cultural Pluralism, Preservice Teacher Education, Professional Education, Multicultural Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A